Disciplines

Recommended Citation

Abstract

The first century church believed Jesus’ return would be immediate and as a result, compiling the writings of the apostles was not an immediate priority. In the few hundred years that followed, authentic letters from apostles as well as pseudepigraphical works had begun to circulate. Therefore, a process began of acceptance and rejection for the writings. The book of 1 John was immediately accepted into the Canon along with the Gospel of John. However, 2 John and 3 John were at first disputed and then later included in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. This thesis will examine the process of canonization and examine the letters attributed to John in order to reveal the authorship of the Johannines.